This is the debut album from Moribundo, a Spanish death/doom band.
Moribundo mix crushing funeral doom with harsh, horrifying death metal. Continue reading “Moribundo – Raíz Amarga (Review)”
Tag: Death/Doom
Descend into Despair – Synaptic Veil (Review)
Descend into Despair are a Romanian funeral doom band and this is their second album.
2014’s colossal The Bearer of All Storms was a huge, monolithic slab of atmospheric funeral death/doom. With over 90 minutes of material, it was a weighty, substantial listen that matched its quantity with an equal amount of quality. Continue reading “Descend into Despair – Synaptic Veil (Review)”
Temple of Void – Lords of Death (Review)
Temple of Void are a death/doom band from the US and this is their second album.
Now here’s one I’ve been really looking forward to. Of Terror and the Supernatural was one of my absolute favourite releases of 2014, and it seems like it has been a very long wait for this new one. Continue reading “Temple of Void – Lords of Death (Review)”
Soijl – As the Sun Sets on Life (Review)
Soijl are a Swedish death/doom metal band and this is their second album.
Soijl play atmospheric death/doom, heavy on the atmosphere and crushing weight. Continue reading “Soijl – As the Sun Sets on Life (Review)”
Vin de Mia Trix – Palimpsests (Review)
This is the second album from Ukrainian doom metal band Vin de Mia Trix.
One of the reasons I love what I do at Wonderbox Metal is that I get exposed to some amazing music that I might not have ever encountered otherwise. This latest release by Vin de Mia Trix is exactly one of the reasons why I find running this site so fulfilling.
So, here we have a colossal album full of unrestrained ambition, with the musical talent to back it up. This weighty release only contains four tracks, but the entire playing time clocks in at a mighty 98 minutes. Continue reading “Vin de Mia Trix – Palimpsests (Review)”
Vallenfyre – Fear Those Who Fear Him (Review)
This is the third album from Vallenfyre, a death metal band from the UK.
Featuring current and ex-members of Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, and Abhorrence, in Fear Those Who Fear Him Vallenfyre deliver 39 minutes of ugly, nasty death metal. Continue reading “Vallenfyre – Fear Those Who Fear Him (Review)”
Façade – Loathe (Review)
Façade are a doom band from the Netherlands and this is their debut album.
Although you could probably label this band as death/doom, Façade are a lot more nuanced than a lot of death/doom bands, and the music on Loathe is an advanced-level exploration of mood, substance, and engaging content. Continue reading “Façade – Loathe (Review)”
Altar of Betelgeuze – Among the Ruins (Review)
This is the second album from Finnish doom metallers Altar of Betelgeuze.
Full of fuzzy stoner riffs, this is stoner doom metal that has bitten off a good chunk of death/doom and regurgitates it across these 49 minutes.
Like a more underground version of Continue reading “Altar of Betelgeuze – Among the Ruins (Review)”
Ordog – The Grand Wall (Review)
Ordog are from Finland and play death/doom metal. This is their fifth album.
Okay, so let’s start this review off in no uncertain terms – The Grand Wall is a great album. There. I said it.
The songs follow mournful, misery-drenched themes, as is the norm for this style of music, although Ordog seem quite happy to crank up the aggression when they need to. Due to the overall sorrowful atmospheres though, this is a negatively-charged aggression that keeps within the over-arching framework that the band have set for themselves. Continue reading “Ordog – The Grand Wall (Review)”
Abyssic – A Winter’s Tale (Review)
This is the début album from Norwegian Symphonic Doom/Death band Abyssic.
Well this is an absolute monster of an album. At 79 minutes in length and featuring just four tracks, Abyssic certainly know how to provide the listener with a lot to get their teeth into.
A decent stylistic reference point for Abyssic would initially be the old Peaceville roster, with bands like Anathema, My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost all providing an idea of what the base of the band is like. Only longer and more epic, of course. Once you have this in your mind’s eye, mix in some more modern, epic funeral Doom from the likes of Monolithe, as well as a sterling Classical influence, and you’ll have a good idea of what Abyssic are getting up to here.
The symphonic aspects of Abyssic’s sound are big, bold and unashamedly impressive. Abyssic don’t hold back, and nor should they. This is a band that manage to incorporate the symphonic and Classical elements into their sound in a holistic and complete way, rather than having them just added on at the end. The music easily takes on a cinematic legendary feel and each of these long songs feels like a story. Nay, a saga.
A Winter’s Tale benefits from a huge and lavish production that allows all of the different parts of their repertoire to sound clear and crushing. Thick guitars and textured keyboards merge together with the crushing drums to provide the listener with a very engaging and absorbing listen. The songs may be long, but if you have the time to spare for them then there is so much here to enjoy.
For the most part the vocals are deep, dark growls, of the kind that are pretty much standard for Death/Doom. That’s not to say they’re not effective or don’t do their job though.
Long they may be, but these songs justify their own existence by being so damn impressive and well-put together. The band know their stuff, that’s for sure. Amazingly, given the length, these tracks don’t get boring and the lavish, lush orchestration is a constant joy to listen to, especially when combined with the heaviness of the guitars.
This atmospheric album really nails the best parts of the Death/Doom style for me, and the overwrought symphonic elements are just candy to my ears, pulling the whole thing up to another level.
Very highly recommended.
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